Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for Medical & Maternity/Paternity Leave

What does the Family and Medical Leave Act provide?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees to take unpaid, job protected leave for immediate family and employee’s medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms as if the employee had not taken leave.

Eligible employees are entitled to:

An eligible employee is entitled to a total of twelve (12) workweeks of unpaid leave in a twelve (12) month period based on one or more of the following reasons:

• The birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;
• The placement of a child for adoption or foster care, and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
• To care for the employee’s immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent, but not a parent in law) who has a serious health condition;
• The serious health condition of the employee;
• To address a qualifying exigency as defined under FMLA arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, child, or parent is a covered military member on covered active duty; and/or
• To care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness. This special leave entitlement for service member caregivers grants eligible employees a total of twenty-six (26) workweeks/960 hours of leave in a single twelve (12) month period.

Who is eligible for FMLA?

In order to be eligible take leave under the FMLA, an employee must:

• Have worked for FIU (employer) at least 12 months prior to the event; and
• Have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of the FMLA leave.
• Have worked for FIU for 12 months. The 12 months of employment are not required to be consecutive in order for the employee to qualify for FMLA leave. In general, only employment within seven years is counted unless the following criteria is met:
  • The break in service is due to an employee’s fulfillment of military obligations, or
  • The break in service is governed by a collective bargaining agreement or any other written agreement.

Leave Entitlement

• Leave may be taken on a continuous, intermittent, reduced workday/workweek basis or a combination thereof.
• For the birth or placement of a child, the FMLA leave entitlement expires at the end of the 12 months from the date of the birth or placement of the child.
• Spouses who are both employed by the university may be limited to a:
  • Combined total of twelve (12) weeks of leave during a twelve (12) month period if the leave is taken to care for the employee’s parent with a serious health condition, for the birth or placement of a child; or
  • Combined total of twenty-six (26) weeks of leave during a single twelve (12) month period to care for a covered military service member with a serious injury or illness.

Important FMLA Leave Facts

When is it required to report and follow the FMLA leave process?

The employee or supervisor is responsible for reporting any medical leave of absences to the Human Resources Leave Administrator. Reporting a medical Leave of Absence (LOA) in a timely manner is imperative as the university must abide by federal regulations. The employee is required to submit his/her request for a leave of absence 30 days in advance. The employee or department is required to report a leave of absence to Benefits Administration if it consists of the following:

• Leave of four or more consecutive days, intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule.
• Employee’s conditions requiring an overnight stay in a hospital or other medical care facility.
• Conditions that incapacitate the employee or a family member for four consecutive days or longer.
• Chronic conditions that cause occasional periods of absence when the employee or employee’s family member are incapacitated and require treatment by a health care provider at least twice a year (Intermittent Leave).
• Maternity/Paternity.

Is FMLA Paid Leave?

No, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides unpaid job-protected leave. At FIU, employees are required to use their accrued sick and vacation leave hours while on FMLA leave. Once all accrued leave has been exhausted, the employee will be placed on leave without pay status. During this period, employees may continue their group health insurance coverage under the same terms as if they were actively working.

Additionally, Benefits Administration will review eligibility for Sick Leave Pool or Catastrophic Pool benefits, if applicable.

Helpful FMLA Links

• New Leaves Overview Presentation Video
• FMLA Overview
• FMLA Frequently Asked Questions
• FIU’s Leave Process
• Employee Rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act
• The Employee’s Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act
• The Employer’s Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act

FMLA Leave of Absence (LOA) Process

FIU, as an employer, is responsible for complying with all federal, state, and local regulations, as well as university policies. As such, we are obligated to determine an employee’s eligibility for all leave of absences including those designated as Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leaves. All medical leave types include those related to the care of the employee as well as the employee’s family.

Medical Leave Process & Employee Responsibilities:

1. Complete the Online Leave of Absence (LOA) Request form at: my.fiu.edu
   • Navigate to: Human Resources Self Service > Employee Resources > Employee Forms > Benefits Forms > Leave of Absence Online Form.
   • Supervisors completing the form on behalf of an employee: Manager Self Service > Manager Forms > Leave of Absence Online Form.

2. After the LOA form is completed by the employee or supervisor, an acknowledgement email will be sent to the employee’s department.
   • Faculty: Acknowledgement email will be sent to Supervisor, HR Liaison, and Academic Affairs.
   • Administrative & Staff: Acknowledgement email will be sent to Supervisor, and HR Liaison.

3. Upon receipt of the LOA Request form, a Notice of Eligibility for FMLA will be sent from the Benefits Administration, requesting the required medical documentation as applicable:
   • Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious Health Condition
   • Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member’s Serious Health Condition

4. Please ensure the medical documentation is sent within the defined deadline to HR Benefits via:
   • Upload: through PantherSoft at my.fiu.edu using this path: Employee Resources / Employee Forms / Benefits Forms / Self Service Upload /through DHR Benefits Imports Portal (fiu.edu) or,
   • Fax: 305-348-3884

Note: An employee who is requesting leave, needs to provide the required medical certification within 15 calendar days from the date when the Notice of Eligibility is sent.

5. After the required documents are received, a final designation letter is issued from Benefits Administration to the employee and copied to supervisor and HR Liaison.

Return to Work:

• An employee out on a medical leave due to their own condition for four (4) or more full consecutive days, is required to provide a Fitness for Duty Certificate (medical release), no more than 15 days prior to returning to work.
• If the employee does not provide this medical release, the employee is not permitted to return to work until clearance is provided FMLA Leave Process & Employee

Maternity/Paternity Leave Process & Employee Responsibilities:

1. Complete the online Leave of Absence (LOA) Request form at: my.fiu.edu
   • Navigate to: Human Resources Self Service> Employee Resources > Employee Forms > Benefits Forms > Leave of Absence Online Form.
   • Supervisors completing the form on behalf of an employee: Manager Self Service > Manager Forms > Leave of Absence Online Form.

2. After the LOA form is completed by the employee or supervisor, an acknowledgement email will be sent to the employee’s department.
   • • Faculty: Acknowledgement email will be sent to Supervisor, HR Liaison, and Academic Affairs.
     • Administrative & Staff: Acknowledgement email will be sent to Supervisor, and HR Liaison.

3. Upon receipt of the LOA request form, a Notice of Eligibility for FMLA will be sent from the Benefits Administration, requesting a doctor’s note confirming the estimated delivery date.
4. Please ensure the medical documentation is sent within the defined deadline to Benefits Administration via:
   • Upload: through PantherSoft at my.fiu.edu using this path: Employee Resources / Employee Forms / Benefits Forms / Self Service Upload / DHR Benefits Imports Portal (fiu.edu) or,
   • Fax: 305-348-3884

5. After the required documents are received, a final designation letter is issued by the Benefits Administration to the employee and copied to supervisor and HR Liaison.

Timesheet Entry (PantherSoft):

1. The employee or department must enter leave hours in the employee’s timesheet until Benefits Administration has finalized and formally designated the leave in writing (email notification).
2. Once the leave has been formally designated, Benefits Administration will commence entering leave hours in the employee’s timesheet. The exception is for intermittent leave designation where the employee enters his or her own time. Intermittent leave is a leave where the employee is attending to his or her medical need at irregular intervals while working.
3. The department is responsible for approving any leave time entered by Benefits Administration in the employee’s timesheet.

FMLA Definitions

“Serious Health Condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves one of the following:

• Inpatient Care: An overnight stay in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, including any period of incapacity or any subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care.
• Continuing Treatment by a Health Care Provider: A serious health condition involving continuing treatment by a health care provider including any one or more of the following:
  • Incapacity and Treatment: A period of incapacity of four or more consecutive, full calendar days, and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition, that also involves:
  • Two or more in-person visits to a health care provider for treatment, within 30 days of the first day of incapacity, unless extenuating circumstances exist, by a health care provider; or
  • At least one in-person visit to a health care provider for treatment which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the supervision of the health care provider.

“Intermittent Leave” means leave taken in separate periods of time due to a single qualifying reason.

“Immediate family member” means spouse, parent (not parent-in-law), son or daughter (under age 18, or age 18 or older) and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.

“Spouse” means a husband or wife as defined or recognized under state law for purposes of marriage in the state where the employee resides, including common law marriage in states where it is recognized.

“Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing “in loco parentis” by providing day-to-day care and/or financial support. For FMLA leave for adoption, foster care or a family member with a serious health condition, the child must be either under age 18, or age 18 or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability as defined by the ADA. For FMLA leave due to birth and care of a newborn child, the child must be under 12 months of age.

“Next of kin” means nearest blood relative of that individual.

“Covered active duty” means (a) in the case of a member of a regular component of the Armed Forces, duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country; and (b) in the case of a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country under a call or order to active duty under a provision of law referred to in section 101(a)(13)(B) of title 10, United States Code.

“Covered Servicemember” means (a) a member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves) who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness: or (b) a veteran who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, for a serious injury or illness and who was a member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves) at any time during the period of 5 years preceding the date on which the veteran undergoes that medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy.

“Qualifying exigencies” may include attending certain military events, arranging for alternative childcare, addressing certain financial and legal arrangements, attending certain counseling sessions, and attending post-deployment reintegration briefings.